Increasingly, robotic vehicles are being utilized to explore and analyze remote, hazardous, and/or hostile environments. For example, robotic roving vehicles (RRVs) have been deployed to conduct exploratory and scientific missions on the surfaces of remote planets or other astronomical bodies. In some cases, these RRVs are configured to analyze geologic targets on the remote surface and to transmit the analysis data back to earth. To that end, some RRVs are equipped with robotic arms having various instruments for performing geochemical analysis and gathering other data regarding a geologic target. Such on-site geologic analysis provides valuable information regarding the composition, structure, physical properties, dynamics, and history of a remote terrain.
One technique for analyzing geologic targets includes a two-step triage or screening process. First, a geologist or other personnel reviews data describing the landscape surrounding the current location of the robotic vehicle in order to identify a plurality of geologic targets. Second, the robotic vehicle moves to the location of each identified geologic target and deploys a Microscopic Imager (MI) attached to its robotic arm to a very accurate position in order to acquire microscopic images of the geologic targets for petrographic analysis by a geologist or other personnel. Samples of the geologic target may then be analyzed based on the results of this petrographic analysis.
While the two-step triage process discussed above is effective, it does suffer from certain drawbacks. For example, the process requires the robotic vehicle to move to a new location and/or redeploy the robotic arm and MI for each selected geologic target. Further, the time required to position the MI and to acquire the image data often exceeds the time required to analyze a sample of a geologic target and, as a result, the image data for a geologic target is often received after the analysis data. Consequently, the two-step triage process described above can result in excessive movement of the robotic vehicle, increased wear and tear on the robotic arm, duplicative analysis, and other factors that may reduce the total number of diverse geologic samples that can be analyzed during the robotic vehicle's mission.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system and a method for efficient triage of multiple geologic targets without having to move the robotic vehicle, deploy the robotic arm, or use other mission resources. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.